Tempest Rising - Command & Conquer inspired RTS - official artwork and logo

Inspired by the strategy games of old, and especially the Command & Conquer series, the upcoming Tempest Rising is a base-building RTS about three asymmetrical factions vying for dominance in a dying world. Each one brings with them a unique roster of units and abilities, potential playstyles, as well as economies to manage.

If you're curious how all of this looks like in actual gameplay, you'll be pleased to hear that the Tempest Rising team has now released a lengthy, developer-guided preview. It contains the entirety of the first Global Defense Forces' campaign mission along with explanations for most of the core mechanics, so it should be quite enlightening. Have a gander, starting with a bit of lore:

After going through the preview, I must admit I'm not exactly sure what to think about Tempest Rising. On one hand I'm incredibly glad that we're getting a new base-building RTS, and the gameplay shown so far does seem to be pretty fun. On the other hand, I can't help but feel like Tempest Rising has decided to borrow a bit too much from Command & Conquer instead of developing its own identity. Doing stuff like naming a faction "Global Defense Forces" as a nod to "Global Defense Initiative" is cute, but when you do that for everything from storytelling to UI features it starts to get a little bit strange.

Whatever your thoughts on the matter may be, I'm afraid we'll have to wait a little while in order to see what exactly Tempest Rising has to offer as no release date has been announced just yet, only a vague "coming soon." Once that changes, I'll make sure to let you know.

Until then, you can learn a little bit more about Tempest Rising over at Steam. Enjoy!

Tempest Rising, Command & Conquer inspired strategy game, screenshot of a Global Defense Force convoy

Tempest Rising, Command & Conquer inspired strategy game, screenshot of a battle between two factions